Trump Says He is Likely to Support Ending Federal Ban on Marijuana

Yesterday, President Donald Trump said he likely will support a congressional effort to end the federal ban on cannabis. I think we can all agree that this would be a major step that would reshape the pot industry and end the threat of a Justice Department crackdown.

Trump made his comments to a bunch of reporters Friday morning before he boarded a helicopter on his way to the G-7 summit in Canada. His remarks came the day after the bipartisan group of lawmakers proposed its measure.

One of the lead sponsors is Senator Cory Gardner. “I support Sen. Gardner,” Trump said when asked about the bill. “I know exactly what he’s doing. We’re looking at it. But I probably will end up supporting that, yes.”

The legislative proposal, which is also supported by Senator Elizabeth Warren would reshape the legal cannabis landscape.

California and eight other states, as well as Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational use of cannabis. An additional 20 states permit marijuana for medical use. But even as states legalize, cannabis has remained a risky and unstable business because cannabis is still illegal on a federal level. Concerns about federal law enforcement seizures have inhibited most lenders from working with weed businesses making their life a lot harder. Also, a lot of investors are still very cautious to work with cannabis firms. Further, you can’t imagine how hard it is to find a credit card processor when you want to sell CBD products in your online shop.

A lifting of the federal prohibition would be a great step to create uniform testing and regulatory standards for cannabis, and potentially free scientists to pursue research into the many medical uses of the plant.

Trump said he is likely to support the federal legalization effort despite a warning against it from the coalition of narcotics officer groups.

“We urge you to see through the smoke screen and reject attempts to encourage more drug use in America,” they wrote in a letter to Trump on Thursday.